#432 Shall We Gather at the River?

Words and Music by Robert Lowry, 1864 (1826-1899)

 

Shall we gather at the river,

where bright angel feet have trod,

with its crystal tide forever

flowing by the throne of God?

 

Refrain:

Yes, we'll gather at the river,

the beautiful, the beautiful river;

gather with the saints at the river

that flows by the throne of God.

 

On the margin of the river,

washing up its silver spray,

we will walk and worship ever,

all the happy golden day.

 

Refrain:

Yes, we'll gather at the river,

the beautiful, the beautiful river;

gather with the saints at the river

that flows by the throne of God.

 

Ere we reach the shining river,

lay we every burden down;

grace our spirits will deliver,

and provide a robe and crown.

 

Refrain:

Yes, we'll gather at the river,

the beautiful, the beautiful river;

gather with the saints at the river

that flows by the throne of God.

 

Soon we'll reach the shining river,

soon our pilgrimage will cease;

soon our happy hearts will quiver

with the melody of peace.

 

Refrain:

Yes, we'll gather at the river,

the beautiful, the beautiful river;

gather with the saints at the river

that flows by the throne of God.

Author and composer Robert Lowry was born in Philadelphia in 1826. He was a pastor, a professor of rhetoric and literature, and a musician. He was recognized as a brilliant speaker, a thorough Bible student, and a man of genial disposition who possessed a keen sense of humor. Robert Lowry died on November 23, 1899, in Plainfield, New Jersey. One very hot summer day in 1864 Lowry was sitting at the window of his study in Brooklyn, New York. At the time a fierce epidemic was raging, and his heart ached at seeing so many mourners in the streets who had laid their loved ones to rest. As he was meditating, this question came into his mind: "At the parting of the river of death, shall we meet again at the river of life?" Lowry went to his organ and spontaneously composed both the words and music of this hymn. Lowry once told a reporter, "I do not pick out my music on the keys of an instrument. The tunes of nearly all the hymns I have written have been completed on paper before I tried them on the organ. Frequently the words of the hymn and the music have been written at the same time."